Reinforcing dowel for high heels



April 30, 1963 F. M. RONCI 3,087,263

REINFORCING DOWEL FOR HIGH HEELS Filed June 23, 1961 lllllll FIG.2

INVENTOR.

FERNANDO M. RONCI I ATTORN Y ed fitates item 3,087,263 Patented Apr. 30, 1.963

3,087,263 REINFORCENG DGWEL FOR HIGH HEELS Fernando M. Ronci, Providence, RI. (2 Atlantic Blvd., Centredale, RI.) Filed June 23, 1961, Ser. No. 119,141 1 Claim. (Cl. 3634) My present invention relates to the shoe making art and more particularly to a novel reinforcing dowel for a woman's shoe.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced dowel having superior anchoring qualities in a plastic high heel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dowel having means for preventing rotation and vertical movement in the heel.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced dowel which is simple in construction and readily adaptable to any type of tap mounting.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accom panying drawings, and more particularly defined in the appended claim.

-In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section of a heel having a dowel embodying my invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of the heel and dowel.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the dowel.

In recent years womens heels have been made of plastic material and extremely thin. It has been found necessary to provide the heel with a central vertical opening into which a hardened steel reinforced dowel is hammered. The bottom end of the reinforced dowel is provided with numerous devices and methods which holds the tap on the heel. It is essential that the tap be prevented from turning While in use. Therefore, the tap is mounted rigidly on the bottom of the dowel and the dowel is provided with fiutings or similar means to prevent rotation. However, the dowel can work itself loose vertically under the strain of walking and allow the tap to become separated from the bottom end of the heel. The present invention, therefore, provides a reinforced dowel having additional means for retaining the dowel in the heel opening against vertical movement.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a womans shoe having an elongated plastic heel 11 with a central vertical opening 12. The tap 13 at the bottom end of the heel is mounted in any desired manner at the lower end of the reinforced dowel 14 driven into the opening 12.

Referring to FIG. 3, the dowel 14 is provided with spaced annular portions 15 having vertical surface flutes or teeth. The spaces between the portions 15 form a smooth section 16 of narrower diameter than the portions 15. In FIG. 3 the portions 16 are illustrated as extremely narrow. However, it is only necessary that the portions 16 be equal to the base diameter of the teeth of the portions 15 so that the teeth extend beyond the surface of the portions 16. While any desired spacing may be used, it has been found that the best results are obtainable Where the portions 15 and approximately A3" in width and the portions 16 are in width.

Now referring to FIG. 2, when the plastic heel has been freshly molded it has a great deal of resiliency. Some of this resiliency is lost in aging. Therefore, it is contemplated that the dowel 14 being driven into the opening 12 as quickly after molding as is practicable. Since the outside diameter of the dowel is usually equal to or perhaps slightly greater than the opening 12, the teeth or flutes on the portions 15 will dig into the walls of the opening 12 to prevent rotation of the dowel in the opening. At the same time the tension and resiliency of the plastic material will cause it to bow inwardly slightly into each portion 16 as in 17 in FIG. 2. After a few days this bowed portion 17 loses some of its resiliency and thus locks the dowel against accidental vertical movement.

Since it is necessary to replace the tap and dowel it can be withdrawn in the usual manner. With the dowel of the present invention a greater pulling force will be necessary. However, the plastic heel will still give sufficiently to enable the dowel to be withdrawn.

The dowel of the present invention can be made in any lengths and can also be used with a soft metal heel, such as a cast aluminum heel with good results. Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparend to a .person skilled in the art.

I claim:

A heel for a woman's shoe made of comparatively weak material and having a broad top heel-seat portion tapering to an elongated narrow portion, said heel having a vertical opening extending from the bottom end through said narrow portion, a hardened steel reinforcing dowel driven into said opening, means on said dowel to prevent vertical movement in said opening, and a tap at the bottom end of said dowel, said means comprising a plurality of spaced annular horizontal bands extending along said dowel, said bands being raised from the surface of said dowel and forming abrupt shoulders, a plurality of vertical flutes on the outer surface of said bands to prevent rotation of the dowel in said opening, the area of narrower cross section between said bands being smooth, said bands being twice the width of the spacing between said bands, whereby the material of the heel will bow inwardly toward said narrow portion between each adjacent pair of bands.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,851,797 Ronci Sept. 16, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 431,740 Great Britain July 15, 1935 1,199,909 France June 22, 1959 1,200,335 France June 29, 1959 1,201,604 France July 15, 1959 1,202,794 France July 20, 1959 855,807 Great Britain Dec. 7, 1960 

